FRACKVILLE — “It’s time to get rid of the Wolf” was the message of state Sen. Scott Wagner during his announcement of running for state governor during his visit to Schuylkill County on Wednesday afternoon.

Wagner, 61, stopped at the Gilberton Power Co.’s John B. Rich Memorial Power Station near Frackville to make one of three announcements in different parts of the state on Wednesday to be the first Republican candidate for the gubernatorial office currently held by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who is expected to run for a second term.

The primary and General Election races will occur in 2018, giving Wagner a 16-month start for the May 15, 2018, GOP primary.

The cogeneration facility was the third announcement stop for the day, with Wagner kicking off his campaign at the company he founded in 2000, Penn Waste Inc., Manchester, located in York County. His second stop was at Worth and Company Inc., Pipersville.

The announcement event was held outside with the cogeneration plant as the backdrop and began with comments from John W. Rich Jr., president of Gilberton Coal Co. and Waste Management and Processors Inc., both of Gilberton.

“This is the perfect example of clean coal technology,” Rich said. “We’ve been doing it for 30 years.”

Rich introduced WMPI mine superintendent David Morgan to introduce Wagner to the plant employees and local GOP leaders. Morgan read Wagner’s biography, who is a lifelong resident of York County, began his first business at age 20, and is president and owner of Penn Waste, York, and KBS Trucking, Thomasville. He was elected to the state Senate to represent the 28th Senatorial District in a special election in March 2014, and ran successfully for a four-year term in November 2014.

“This is real America. This is where things happen,” Wagner said about being in the county and knowing the Rich family and understanding the importance of being part of his own companies that he started from scratch that employ hundreds of people.

“I’ve been in the Senate for almost three years, and, as a business guy, I see first hand how dysfunctional and out of control Harrisburg really is,” Wagner said. “When I went to Harrisburg, I knew that it was going to be bad. I didn’t know it was going to be five times worse. The current dysfunction we have is the result of 30 to 40 years of doing the same thing over and over and allowing special interest groups to become way too powerful and way to influential.”

Wagner said there have been changes and progress in the past three years, but there is much more work to do, though there is also a “roadblock” slowing those changes.

“I’m here today to tell you that there is a major roadblock that’s preventing the reforms from taking place in Harrisburg, and the roadblock I’m talking about is Governor Tom Wolf, pure and simple,” Wagner said. “Governor Wolf promised to lower taxes, create new jobs and change the status quo. Last week, Pennsylvania’s gas tax went up another eight cents a gallon, and if you didn’t know it, before that happened Pennsylvania had the highest gas tax in the nation, and now it’s super-high.”

Wagner said the state’s financial condition is getting worse, unemployment is up, and people are becoming more frustrated.

“It’s very simple. Governor Wolf is a failed governor, and that’s why I’m here today to announce that I’m running for governor of Pennsylvania,” Wagner said. “It’s real simple. Pennsylvania is at a crossroads. Pennsylvania has a pension crisis. Property owners are choking on ever-increasing school taxes on their properties. Unemployment is up, and Pennsylvania’s economy is stalled. Pennsylvania’s businesses are choking on regulations. This has got to change. This is make or break time. I can assure you that I am very different from Governor Wolf.”

Speaking as a business owner, Wagner said Pennsylvania has a unique position in the country for different reasons.

“Pennsylvania is a very unique state. Within 24 hours we can reach one-third of our nation’s population from Pennsylvania,” he said. “Pennsylvania has a great workforce and it needs more skilled labor for the future. Pennsylvania can and should be an economic powerhouse. We have the ability to do that.”

When it comes to the financial situation of the state, Wagner said the state does not have a revenue problem, but it does have a spending problem, which garnered applause from the crowd.

“The number one person driving the agenda in Harrisburg is the governor. We have the largest majorities in the legislature in a long time,” Wagner said. “Today the Senate has 34 Republican senators, which is the largest majority we’ve seen in almost 70 years. As long as we have a Republican majority and Governor Wolf in the governor’s office, we’re not going anywhere. It’s time to get rid of the Wolf. Pennsylvania desperately needs a governor who has extensive leadership skills and understands how operating a business really works. Pennsylvania needs a governor who is a visionary to see the future, to build a team to lead Pennsylvania to be a powerhouse again.”

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